Question

Hi Michi,

In this letter I’m raising several issues, most of which are really just clarifications to our previous correspondence. I apologize for that, but the issues I’m referring to are all intertwined with one another…
I’ll try to organize my remarks so you won’t skip over some of the points:
Here is the list of topics I’ll raise here:
1] The lack of value in asking the Holy One, blessed be He, for help.
2] "The Transparent Kippahs."
3] Religion as a source of emotional experiences—instead of a foundation for taking responsibility.
4] Daniel Kahneman as an authority on the interrelations between economics and society, and on independence 5] How the Arabs view us 6] A chosen people?
To the matter itself—in our correspondence on September 8, you agreed with me on the issue of the lack of value in asking the Holy One, blessed be He, for help.
In the meantime, something important happened [from my point of view!]: I read in Dyokan about "the Transparent Kippahs." Do you know about them?
If not—this is an organization of people from a secular background who are looking for a way to express their desire for a Jewish identity.
At the moment they are focused on study and ritual; they are not careful about observance of the commandments. They number several thousand people from all over the country.
I got in touch with Eran Rolls, who is their “rebbe.” It turns out he was in Hashomer Hatzair, and Eran added me to their WhatsApp group.
I wrote there that in my opinion study and ritual are not enough; it is essential to create a shared vision. In order to be more grounded, I explained that the situation of the State of Israel requires us to work on strengthening Israeli society so that we can cope with those who rise up against us.
An interesting discussion developed. At first Eran recoiled from my request to discuss a vision, but “Musa” Peled from Beit HaShita [who had been a Knesset member for Tzomet], and who is one of the dominant people in the group, convinced Eran of the value of the idea. Musa suggested assigning a young man from Tel Yosef who had become religious—Assi Gutsman—to work on preparing a study day. Yesterday I sat with Assi for an introductory meeting. When we parted, I remembered that I had missed the opportunity to share with him an idea that is an important principle in my faith: we should not expect the Holy One, blessed be He, to answer our prayers. We should do the best we can without expecting help from the Holy One, blessed be He. [Hope—yes!] Among other things, we discussed our aspiration to become a chosen people.
Since my belief is that this special quality must be realized through focused and purposeful action, I asked Assi how he thinks one should act in order to become a chosen people. His answer was: prayer. True, prayer for the realization of communal needs is not the same as asking for personal [family] help, and nevertheless it seems to me that turning to the Holy One, blessed be He, with a request for assistance detracts from the gravity of personal responsibility!
But I want to raise another weighty issue: I know [and I’m sure you do too!] that many people are looking for their way to Judaism not out of conviction that this is the proper path, but out of a thirst for emotional experiences. And along with that they are also willing to lend a hand to purposeful action.
I’ll begin by mentioning the fact that in the 1970s sexual permissiveness was widespread בארץ, and later the use of light drugs was added to that; over time it escalated, then the sexual permissiveness subsided [also because of AIDS], and then a wave of becoming religious began. I mention this because becoming religious turned into something fashionable, which indeed came mainly to answer emotional needs!
I’m raising this because religion here serves as an expression of a kind of selfish love—in your language, centripetal—instead of an expression of taking responsibility.
Regarding the ad hominem charge you attribute to me because I rely on Kahneman, I think this time you’re mistaken. [Unless I have a reading comprehension problem!] Kahneman is an authority precisely on these issues—the interrelations between psychology and economics. And he immediately understood the destructive implications of an economy belonging to a society that does not have free access to resources [because they are at the mercy of the ruling sovereign], and what the Palestinians’ reactions to such a situation would be. It doesn’t matter at all who is to blame—but if we control them and their resources, and also “abuse” them a bit [so they’ll see who’s boss here!], we will significantly increase their desire to harm us, and it doesn’t matter that those harmed will often be children and the elderly.
When I said that I aspire for the Palestinians to say “wow” about us, I meant that they should indeed see us as a chosen people, worthy of learning from. True, even today they have what to learn from us, but my vision is close in character to the vision of the end of days. And I do not deny my hope that the Palestinians will adopt our values, even if they do not convert!
That will not happen if we continue to compete with them over occupying the slot of a nationalism that sanctifies land and stones.
As for your claim that I suffer from the fallacy of small numbers—I’m sorry to say I was lazy and did not read a book that deals with a volatile issue: examining the claim that the State of Israel rejected the outstretched hand for peace of the Arab states, because the peace they offered was based on minimum conditions that the State of Israel [Ben-Gurion] was not willing to accept. But apparently—they really did mean genuine peace!
It seems to me, Michi, that you tend too much to generalize—I mean that even though you know that within the Israeli Jewish public there is a very broad range of opinions, you relate to the Arabs as if they were a monolithic entity in terms of their values. But the range of their opinions is certainly at least as broad as ours.
So not all Arabs have wanted to destroy us for the past 100 years. If you want, I’ll elaborate!
I raised the issue of the settlers’ feelings of mastery for a practical reason—many times they abuse Palestinians just for the sake of it. [Not all of them, but!… Here I have to say something—not infrequently I refrain from spelling out one of my claims, because it seems very trivial to me, and so I think that an educated and broad-minded person like you will already understand what I mean, but it turns out that since your net is spread over many matters, you can’t encompass everything.
Therefore I’ll clarify what I meant: human nature is such that if people are oppressed by factor X, they will not rebel against it, because it is too strong. Therefore they will vent their frustrations and anger on a weak, vulnerable sector to which one can attribute closeness [even if that is not true] to the oppressing factor!
Toward the end—I raised the issue of the commandment to love God in the context of Muslims, who are commanded regarding a very specific belief, and I asked for your opinion on my distinction. I’d be happy if this time you would address that.
So have a pleasant rest of the day and a happy holiday